Waukee team bus driver remembered as faithful, selfless fan

The team's bus driver for decades, Gordy Emmons tries to make it to as many home games as he can to support the girls --even after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.

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Gordy Emmons watches as the Waukee softball team knocks out Ottumwa to advance to the state softball tournament. Emmons spent years as the Waukee softball team's driver, but a diagnosis with stage four lung cancer recently took him out of the driver seat. Emmons, who considers himself one of the team's biggest fans, still makes it to as many home games as he can, despite his health struggles.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)Buy Photo

He was diagnosed with stage IV after a mass was discovered in his chest in April. He lived to see Waukee take second in the Class 5A state softball tournament in July.

Emmons' name was never as famous as some of the coaches or star softball and girls' basketball athletes he transported — but his heart was so big, he was an everyday person who contributed to providing high school kids with special memories.

Buying pizza out of his own pocket for the team? That was Gordy.

Warming up the bus early so the kids wouldn't have to sit on cold seats? That was Gordy.

Wearing a purple cast when he broke a wrist to show school spirit? Yep, that was Gordy.

The loving, caring attitude he offered the players was returned to him, too.

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Members of the Waukee softball team wear white ribbons in support of Gordy Emmons, the team's bus driver who is battling stage four lung cancer. Emmons, who considers himself one of the team's biggest fans, still makes it to as many home games as he can, despite his health struggles.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

The softball players wore white ribbons in their hair this season to honor the ailing bus driver. The white color represented lung cancer awareness.

His living room became a place to display signs of encouragement to him: Team photographs and autographed basketballs and softballs, a stack of cards wishing him well.

Entering the state softball tournament, Emmons wasn't certain he could follow the team at Fort Dodge. He would have to fight heat and humidity. His strong, powerfully built body had to be wheeled to a spot in or near the bleachers to support the girls.

He achieved that goal.

Emmons didn't want to let the girls down, even when he faced terminal cancer.

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Pat Emmons kisses her husband, Gordy, on the forehead at their home on July 11, 2017. Gordy Emmons spent years as the Waukee softball team's driver, but a diagnosis with stage four lung cancer recently took him out of the driver seat. Emmons, who considers himself one of the team's biggest fans, still makes it to as many home games as he can, despite his health struggles.(Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

When he retired from his job as a district manager at Waste Management, Emmons decided he wanted to find a rewarding part-time job. He discovered he liked driving the team bus, even when his shifts included the brutal-at-times winter basketball season.

Gordy and his wife, Pat, who frequently accompanied him to games, would become attached to the girls like family.

"When someone asks which one of the girls is our granddaughter, we just say, 'All of them,'" Pat told the Register in July.

The softball players met with Emmons after their state tournament games to tell him how much he was appreciated.

Emmons didn't let terminal cancer stop him from completing that final step.

"We'd love to see him up in the stands," softball player Mary Gray told the Register in July. "He's kind of been there all the way. It'd be nice to see him finish the journey with us."